Sister Cities of Nashville received an invitation from Sister City Taiyuan, China to attend its 2018 Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum. The forum consisted of a summit, six sub-forums, and a conference. The event featured 48 international guests in attendance including representatives from the energy field sector, United Nations, scholars..The Conference, which was first held in 2016, was co-hosted by the Shanxi Provincial Government, Ministry of Technology of the People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Commerce, and National Energy Administration.The group was warmly welcomed at the Intercontinental Hotel in Taiyuan’s new business sector. The group was amazed to discover the amount of development that had occurred to make this segment of their city come into fruition. Less than 10 years ago the area was farm land. However, the area is now a completely developed metro area with a brand new seven-story mall, multiple museums, housing sky scrapers, and more.The delegates were invited to the Opening Ceremony which set the ground work for the six sub forums. The conference theme “Energy Revolution Benefits Mankind” provided a focus on the global transition to renewable energy, primarily summarized as a third energy revolution. As per Sun Haichao, deputy secretary-general of the Shanxi provincial government, “the theme of the forum is in line with energy being the cornerstone and motive force behind society's development, in line with the trend of the changing times, and in line with the values of building a community that decides the direction of human destiny.”Outside of the conference, the group saw many impressive features of the area. The delegates visited Xishan Mountain, a former coal development area that has had over $1 billion of government contributions to restore the area in terms of low-carbon impact. With a combination of a public and private partnership, the area has been replanted with thousands of trees and intentional efforts have been undertaken to make this area the “lung of the city.”Additionally, the group visited the Jinci Temple and also a local vinegar company. Taiyuan is known for its specialty vinegar production, with a tradition dating back more than 2,500 years. It is as much of part of culture as it is the cuisine. Lastly, the group visited the Shanxi Museum to learn the rich history of the area.